Saucy Help!

Bed Advice

2008-08-20T17:43:18Z

Hello everyone!

I need second opinions. I'm THIS close to finding the perfect loft bed for my room.
I've found this bed on craigslist, have yet to hear back from the seller but it's looking more and more like I'll only be able to find a silver loft bed for cheap.
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/fuo/804115936.html

This is my room inspiration corner. Color and theme. As you can see all the shelves in my room are black. I'm going for a sorta gothic carnival theme.

Also my bed spread.

So the question is this. When I do get my bed, eventually, do I paint it black or leave it silver? Silver Is part of the color pallette but I'm not sure.
I get a Lot of light in my room so I'm not worried about the room being too dark. My biggest concern is looking too mashed together and college student like.

jump-starting the bathroom remodel(s), magpie-style. And a question.

2008-08-19T22:59:02Z

We are planning to remodel our two tiny bathrooms this winter/spring. We weren't planning on starting this process too much yet, but today we bought these two items at Ikea, because a) we loved them, b) they are flatpacked, so easy to stuff in a closet until we're ready for them, and most importantly, c) we spent $100 on BOTH pieces. Seriously. $40 and $60. I couldn't believe it. Here are our treasures:

First the vanity... we still need to find a sink, but really like the huge, shallow ones that cover the whole top of the cabinet.

details: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80075807

And a little side cabinet:

details: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40075809

Right now, we are thinking to put in some type of grey floor tile and grey subway tile in our upstairs bathroom, possibly with some green/blue-green glass accents. In addition, I think we want to put in a shower door rather than the curtain that's there. We want it to look modern, but not so modern that it doesn't fit in to our (very pacific NW) house, or look dated in a few years. We plan to put these guys in there, too.

So, here's my question... I *love* white wainscoting, but *hate* "country-looking" decor. Can I put white wainscoting in with these fixtures, some cool tile, and some modern faucets, and have it look okay? Has anyone combined modern fixtures/colors/furniture with wainscoting? If so, I'd love to see pictures. Thanks!!

(I know it's not a "show me your" day, so I'm sorry if this is out of place, but I'm really excited, and also thought that maybe someone on here could use a cool $40 sink cabinet!) :)

show me your earrings!

2008-08-19T21:18:49Z

I'd like some ideas for saucy earring storage/display. I have a jewelry box--where they are now--but I've finally figured out that if I don't keep them out where I can *see* them, I'll never wear them. So.

Our bedroom is old/comfortable, and the vanity is 1930's Art Deco, so nothing modern, please-no lucite, etc. I'm up for DIY as well, if you've got an idea. A lot of my earrings are dangly, but none more than a couple of inches.

Painting plastic?

2008-08-19T19:58:25Z

I have a plastic drawer that I put in the lower section of my tv stand. It holds various video gaming stuff. Since we've gotten a new DVR that is a sleek black, and our tv stand is black...this white & clear drawer sticks out like a sore thumb. I'm considering spray painting it black. Any suggestions on brand of paint?

I would just be painting the white part:

Mod Furniture question

2008-08-19T19:56:24Z

I recently purchsed two chairs at an antique show that were told to me, they were hippie lounge chairs. They have leather straps on them, for easy carry, and are pretty solid. I don't know anything about them. The straps don't come off, and they are super comfortable. I have 2.

EDIT : They are comfortable. One sits in the chair cross legged, or in yoga: "easy pose". The straps are used to carry the furniture around, quite easily, and were part of the orginal design.

My question, what I am asking help on: ANYONE out there know anything about them??

They are going in the mediation room.

Secondly, for pure fun, a pair of plastic lips-that is a chair/love seat. Fabulouse!

Thanks for the help:

*Crossposted: Thirteenrocks/Mod furniture community

saucyhelp @ 2008-08-19T10:39:00

2008-08-19T15:41:28Z

I'm off to a second viewing of a charming vintage apartment that my husband and I may lease starting in October. Assuming everything's on the up and up after this viewing, we'll be applying and I've already started decorating in my head.

What would you put in the "hearth" part of a decorative fireplace such as this:

(Excuse the mess, the current tenant just started packing when we visited on Saturday.)

I'm all for DIY options but something that would be dog-safe (though she doesn't usually get in to things, I don't want to tempt fate)

Thanks!

saucyhelp @ 2008-08-19T08:14:00

2008-08-19T12:21:54Z

So we just moved into a townhouse that's much much larger than our previous apartment, and I'm starting to look around local thrift stores for furniture. My knowledge of furniture repair and reupholstery is pretty much nonexistant. I found an armchair in a shop last night for $30 and was tempted to pick it up, but it would definitely need reupholstering.

I get the impression from Google searches that recovering a chair is pretty easy, but this chair has button tufting, so I don't think I'd be up for doing that myself. It vaguely resembles this one with the buttons, although it's much lower to the ground and the legs are covered by a flap of fabric. It's an older chair, relatively solid and made in Maryland. I sat in it and it's comfy, although maybe a little low to the ground.

Can anyone shed some light on what order of financial magnitude it would be to have a chair like that reupholstered? If I need to I can go back tonight and sneak a photo of it to post as well. I don't mind putting some money into a chair, but I just don't know enough about what to look for yet to know if it's a good idea. I realize that a large part of the cost of reupholstery is the fabric, and that's okay, but there's no point in investing in a piece that's not worth the cost of the fabric and labor.

saucyhelp @ 2008-08-19T03:03:00

2008-08-19T07:05:37Z

SOOOOOO

the girl who lived in my room before me had left her furnature, she was low on cash and wanted me to buy it. I was lower on cash and couldn't... My friend gave me a desk and a dresser bc he's moving out of the country but I'm still left w/o a bed.

My room is a decent size considering the apartment overall is pretty small, it has good light and I feel like it would be more welcoming as a hang out area and give me even more room if I had a Futon. Also, the boyfriend and I are planning on moving in together when our seperate leases are up in the spring so it would make more sense to get that so we have furnature we can use instead of 2 beds.

The problem is I'm pretty low on cash, but I still want something nice and am not really willing to look on craigs list because it would be nice to have something new to sleep on for the first time in about 8 years. The most I would be able to spend is 200 but i'm looking for something closer to 150. I know i'm not going to get any beautiful artful piece of brand new furniture for this price but I would like something fun/cool/trendy if at all possible. I'm wondering if you could point me anywhere other than the obvious kmart, target etc websites?

XPOSTED LIKE WOAH

indoor grass

2008-08-19T05:33:54Z

i am pretty much obsessed with that grass rug thing in the target college 08 catalog. it looks almost too real, as if they just took a big chunk of sod and used it in the photo for show, but i'm not sure.

i know i've seen cheap astroturf rugs for like patios, but i really want something like in the picture.

someone point me in the right direction! :D

thanks

saucyhelp @ 2008-08-18T23:03:00

2008-08-19T03:05:41Z

Is it tacky or saucy to paint every room in a house a different color? It's what we were planning on doing with the house we just bought, and the guy that's painting it for us acted a little put out when we mentioned we were painting in such a scheme.

Hey, we're kind of quirky, and the way I look at it is this - I'm paying you lots of money, dude. Get over it. *shrug*

Tell me if I'm being a jerk here.

attaching postcards to unfinished wood

2008-08-19T00:18:04Z

I have postcards that I'd like to attach to some unfinished wood beams (they're about 100 years old, not splintery or anything, but definitely an uneven surface) in my apartment. However, because I like to complicate things, I don't want to use pushpins or put holes in the postcards. That said, how would you go about attaching the postcards to the wood (non permanently)? I'm thinking some sort of tape, but I don't want to go experimenting, especially if someone has an idea.

x-posted to craftgrrl, hopefully you didn't have to read this twice

saucyhelp @ 2008-08-18T10:46:00

2008-08-18T14:47:53Z

I've been in love with that lamp, as well as the end table but that's not important right now. I can get the shade easily but am looking for a base very very similar to that one. Help!

I'm buying this headboard and am wondering if I have to buy a special kind of bed frame, or do separate headboards just attach to anything? Thanks.

paint choices

2008-08-18T13:55:48Z

good morning!

i'm a color-idiot, and i need some help. my furniture is either olive green (my couch and chair) or a light beech (everything else!).

currently my walls are yellow, a sickly jaundiced yellow, and it's Got To Go. I would love a blue, but I'm not sure what would go with the olive - if anything (other than tan) would at all.

suggestions? i'd prefer something light to brighten up the place, but i love color too much to just make it all white. i just don't know how to put colors TOGETHER, which is why i always wear black. easy!

thanks so much!

EDIT: this is the couch to better assist:

saucyhelp @ 2008-08-17T21:50:00

2008-08-18T01:50:49Z

Can anyone tell me the name/piece this is from Ikea? I can't find it anywhere on the site, and I just want to find out more information about it before I purchase it off of Craigslist. Any help is appreciated!!

Table and window help

2008-08-17T02:01:04Z

My husband and I bought our house back in March and we're slowly working on giving it some character. We decided to start with our kitchen since we use that room the most and already had a lot of "kitchen stuff." Originally, we bought a huge, blocky table to sit in front of the bay window in our kitchen but a lot of people suggested downsizing so we finally did this weekend.

Upgrade? Downgrade? Any suggestions?

When we first bought the house:

With the big blocky table:

Now:

Obviously we still haven't painted and don't have window treatments for the bay window. Any ideas? I hate those blinds so they do not need to be worked around - they came with the house.

Also, that big table is now in our dining room. To me the table is kinda casual and I want to dress it up a little to make it more formal. Any ideas? Pictures and links would be awesome.

Thanks everyone.

saucyhelp @ 2008-08-16T18:46:00

2008-08-16T22:40:40Z

where are your favorite places to buy bedding online?

Pictures of frame collages

2008-08-15T20:10:00Z

Does anyone know where I can find pictures of frame collages? Here are some examples:

http://bp1.blogger.com/_bi27D6myRXM/R6-qUbZDj9I/AAAAAAAAAK8/3uAGayTKwy4/s1600-h/BO86_FemininForaar_boligtorvet.jpg
http://bp1.blogger.com/_bi27D6myRXM/R5qNX7AmKHI/AAAAAAAAAFg/EWubSFGrUeg/s1600-h/2162754683_ab59f4690d_o.jpg

I've been wanting to do something like this for a long time and I'd like to get started now that I've found some excellent thrift stores to stalk, but I want some examples first. My Google-fu is seriously lacking and I can't find as many examples as I'd like.

saucyhelp @ 2008-08-15T09:48:00

2008-08-15T13:49:10Z

I painted my bedroom walls approximately this colour:

I tried my best to do the colour in photoshop. It was called Aberdeen Mist or something, so it's kinda like a very light green fog colour. I rather like it.

My carpet is a very light grey, and I have the ikea MALM bed and dresser set in the oak finish - which doesn't entirely match but I am hoping an inspired duvet / pillow colour choice can bring them together (or distract the fact the bed and dresser colours don't match!).

But what colour(s) should I be looking for? I'm not sure what strong colour will compliment the walls.

saucyhelp @ 2008-08-14T20:18:00

2008-08-15T00:21:26Z

I'm moving into a converted bedroom (used to be the dining room in my apartment but was sealed off and is a bedroom) and it doesn't have a closet. It has a bar that extends to hang clothes on and a shelf but I'm at a loss to figure out how to make this work.

Any organizational tips? Pictures of bedrooms with exposed clothing racks/that are closet-less? I have about $100 and access to a million milk crates.

saucyhelp @ 2008-08-14T18:15:00

2008-08-14T22:11:39Z

I'm brand spanking new to the community and am a little overwhelmed so apologies if this question ha been asked recently.

I'm in LOVE with this rug from last months Domino. It's of Katie Lee Joel's apartment and I've emailed Domino inquiring about it but haven't received any replies. Does anyone know where it is from or where I can get something VERY similar? I love it's silvery-richness and the discolorations.

looking for saucy blinds/shades...

2008-08-14T15:32:15Z

hi everyone!

i've been on a desperate hunt for shades (especially roman ones) that are made of fun/funky fabrics. my decorating style is pretty much mid-century modern, so i'm looking for patterns with bold colors, geometric designs, that kind of thing. all i've found so far are solid colored fabrics in mostly earth tones, and the only patterns i've seen have been sort of a country/traditional feel (muted stripes, etc).

do you have any go-to sites for modern design that you love, that have window treatments? so far i've had no luck at crate and barrel, cb2, urban outfitters, target, jc penney, pottery barn, ikea, and west elm.

retro cafe curtains?

2008-08-13T19:57:54Z

i'm going for a slightly retro feel in my kitchen (pink and chrome, mostly) and am in need of some really fun cafe curtains. i saw some on the Urban Outfitters website, but the colors just wouldn't go.

Short of making them myself, is there any place you can think of that would have really cute, retro cafe curtains that would fit in with fiestaware, stainless steel, and a red table from the 50's?

Painting advice

2008-08-13T14:58:23Z

Since we've decided to renew our lease on our apartment, I want to freshen up our very boring living room, specifically by painting one wall and then adding either vinyl decals or stencils to it.

Here is the wall:

So you can see my design challenges, lots of gray and dark wood with a reddish or maybe yellowish tint/undertone. Also, the shoes and duffel bags are not usually there, so please focus on the wall.

Originally I thought I'd paint one wall yellow because I love the yellow and gray combination, but yellow is a tricky color. Yellow in plants, in fabric and ceramics always looks gorgeous, but yellow paint can turn on you in an instant leaving you with that horrid mellow yellow.

I'd like something a little brighter or maybe richer than this:

Benjamin Moore Dahlia

but then I got to thinking that something like this might be nicer:

Benjamin Moore Opal Essence

As for the stencils/vinyl, this is what I have in mind:

Etsy, Sweetnothing. In white.
or

Urban Outfitters.

Thoughts? Paint suggestions? Advice?

Also:
Have you ever made stencils for your walls? How was the process? The results?
Have you ever used vinyl stick-ons like Blik? Did you/do you like the results?

help with stencils

2008-08-13T12:59:28Z

Does anyone know a good place to go for ceiling medallion stencils? I have a round table I have painted white & I would like to put a black ceiling medallion design in the center of it. The only problem is that I can't seem to find one that I like. I would like something that is open scroll work. The things that I find tend to be overly busy. I'd like something a little simpler & more refined.

QUICK! HELP!

2008-08-12T19:28:55Z

So, my boyfriend and I have been storing our furniture in his dad's garage while we are between apartments. We have this great vintage green couch, which I think may be from the 40s. SOMEONE, however, placed a half-used gallon of paint on it, which, of course, has leaked. We were able to scrape off the small amount of paint that got on the couch, but there is a big, wet spot that has soaked all the way through the cushion and to the base of the couch. It is a "water-based" interior paint, so we're hoping it's just water and that it will dry, but I love this couch so I'm really concerned about what to do. Should we take the cushion to a carpet/furniture cleaning place, or will it be safe to remove the cover and just wash that? Thanks!

Image of the stain:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13106418@N07/2757007467/sizes/l/

Close-up of fabric:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13106418@N07/2757008689/sizes/l/in/photostream/